That was my first line in my first high school play. I was Flora in a melodrama called "Flora's Flower Shop". It had a hero named Dudley Van Doright and a villain whose name escapes me who was foreclosing on our mortgage. I had the lead role. I was hooked. I got the lead role in several other highschool plays as the years followed. I loved acting. And I had a really, really good teacher. Mr. Koven was exceptional. Based on what he taught me, I also got A's in University drama classes.
Then came the turning point when I was 21. There was a musical and they had no director for the acting part. I originally went out to audition for a part but somehow I ended up directing the acting part of the musical. It was put on in the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse and sold out every night. I went on to direct several 'roadshow' performances. One was even adjudicated and we took first place and got rave reviews for children's theatre.
At first I didn't think I would enjoy directing as much as I enjoyed acting. And the first time it was hard to be behind stage instead of on the stage. But that opening night there was a certain buzz watching this show I had helped put on - watching the actors remember what I had taught them. I was hooked.
This afternoon my dance class started working on our dance performance. My young dancers have really learned a lot over the last couple of years. And this will be our most ambitious performance yet. It reflects what they have learned and mastered. They will all be on stage through the whole performance and there will be even more acting. I just get so excited. They respond to my suggestions and they remember what I teach them about the rules of the stage. It is indescribable. Its just so fun. It gets my creative juices going and it gets theirs going and we are bouncing ideas off of each other and something really great is coming together.
Thank you Mr. Koven. You were right.
1 comment:
It doesn't surprise me that you're really good at directing, you'd be a natural!
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